The Atheist’s Prayer / Amy R. Biddle

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words

Availability    

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Author:

"Born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, Amy now spends half of her life at sea and the other half wherever the hell she pleases. An avid traveler and dangerous daydreamer, she is most at home when surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains or the great blue sea."

For more, visit Biddle's website.

Description:

“After a solar eclipse nearly two years ago, nineteen people were found dead in a remote area of the California National Forest. They were lying in a circle, holding hands and wearing plastic fairy wings.

Years later, on the other side of the country, no one in the southern city of Jefferson is concerned about fairies or fairy-worshiping suicide cults. Except for Candy. She might not have proof, but she’s damn sure it’s going to happen again.

The problem is, Candy is a coke-dealing stripper and the only person who will listen to her is an alcoholic mall Santa named Hank, who’s only listening because, well… she’s hot.

There are seven days until the next eclipse.”

Appraisal:

At first glance the title of The Atheist’s Prayer might repel the more religious while attracting non-believers. That initial impression is not only too simplistic an interpretation of the title (why would an atheist be praying?), but also assuming way too much. That isn’t to say that belief in a deity or the lack of such belief doesn’t figure into the story.

The characters in the book run the gamut of beliefs with my favorite, seven year-old Kevin, trying to make sense of it all. All the major characters are multi-dimensional and, like real people, refuse to conform to stereotype. Those that, at first blush, seem to have little going for them, confound that impression in the end, while those that seem to be among the best of people, show that appearances can be deceiving. In the end, they’re all human, with flaws and good qualities that aren’t immediately apparent.

No matter where you stand personally, if you approach The Atheist’s Prayer with an open mind, it will help illustrate the potential, both good and bad, in all people, regardless of which deity (if any) they choose to believe in.

FYI:

Minor (and not very explicit) adult situations.

Format/Typo Issues:

I was given an advanced reader copy which might be different from the final copy.

Rating: ***** Five stars

Sunspots / Karen S. Bell

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Genre: Literary Fiction/ Contemporary/ Ghost Story

Approximate word count: 100-105,000 words

Availability    

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Author:

“Karen S. Bell continues to be in awe of the magical and wondrous phenomenon called life. As an observer and obvious participant in feminine values and approach to our human challenges, she brings this perspective to her work. Fascinated by the mysteries of the unseen forces that perhaps play a role in guiding our choices, she continues to search for answers in the mundane as well as in the cosmic forces that surround us. She is working on her third novel and lives in Ponte Vedra, Fl. with her husband and their two furry kids.”

To find out more about her and her other books check out her website or blog.

Description:

“Sunspots is personal. A personal journey of grieving, a personal journey of self-discovery, and a personal journey geographically. A young woman from Brooklyn, Aurora, a man from Austin, Texas, Jake, meet accidentally in NYC and it changes the trajectory of their lives...But after the honeymoon, reality sets in and she realizes that marriage can be isolating, and that the socio-economic differences between her and Jake can become a wedge... Fast forward two years, and Aurora finds herself a widow... And then her journey becomes one of accepting the harsh reality of encounters with Jake's ghost… Viola, a ghost who has a connection with Aurora's past, leads her [through these episodes not of this world]... Sometimes from the ashes, sometimes from blackness awaits the brilliant light of a life of happiness.”

Appraisal:

This book was a tough one for me to get through. I am not a lover of literary fiction. It often seems like pretentious drivel to me.  This style uses way too many descriptive words to make a point or get the message across.  Plus there is never really any plot to speak of, just days in the life of... Sunspots was like this for me. It was all I could do to pick the book back up again each day, up until the last ten or fifteen percent of the book when the story actually started moving forward.

I understood that Aurora had aspirations to be an actress of stage and film who related events of her life to them. However in telling her story Ms. Bell made numerous references to actors, television soap operas, movie titles, and other famous literary works (ancient to contemporary) throughout this story. It starts off pretty innocuous but becomes overkill after a while with overusage numbing my brain and actually causing my eyes to roll. Honestly, I felt like Ms. Bell's descriptive prose was skilled enough to manage the scenes without using the pop-culture and literary references so much.

Underneath all the pompous blather there is a good story here. Beyond all the Gothic reverie, depression, and malignant obsession Aurora is going through, you would be challenged to find a more flawed character. There is a positive message of being able to make it beyond the darkness of your life. If you can manage to stick with the story through all the time hopping as she remembers, relives, and tries to reorganize her life to see it through to the end.

If you enjoy Literary Fiction about women’s issues, Aurora's journey is a unique one that you may enjoy. This book just wasn't for me, the ghosts pulled me in, but they weren't enough to satisfy me.

Format/Typo Issues:

I found no significant errors in editing or formatting.

Rating: *** Three stars

A Crime Unfit To Be Named: The Prosecution of John William Campbell / Denele Campbell

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: True Crime/Non-Fiction

Approximate word count: 35-40,000 words

Availability    

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Author:

The author of several non-fiction books, Denele Campbell also writes fiction (“probably on the spicy side”) as G.D. Campbell.

Description:

“Folks in this sleepy Arkansas hill town had no idea what awaited them that hot June day in 1949. Women went shopping, professors lectured their college classes, and milkmen delivered their wares. They might have missed the report of this scandalous event. So charged were the words required to describe it, the news wouldn’t make the front page. Instead, hidden on Page 6 between random items of little interest, a tiny notice announced the beginning of a crime and a mystery: ‘Charges of sodomy were filed late this morning in Circuit Court against John Campbell and Mrs. Mary Henry.’

What was the ‘horrible crime not fit to be named among Christians’ which brought policemen to Mr. Campbell’s home? What led to this disturbing discovery? What would become of the young women involved?

This true account tracks indictments, court records, family history, and newspaper articles to tell an outrageous story of zealous lawmen and personal tragedy, and illuminates a tremendous social change which has occurred since 1950.”

Appraisal:

Although technically a true crime book, I don’t see the reasons why A Crime Unfit to be Named appealed to me as fitting the norms for that genre. Much true crime focuses on the crime and the criminal with the psychology of the criminal, the steps required to identify, arrest, and convict the wrongdoer, and/or the horror of the crime(s) taking center stage. Here, the focus is (as the author says in her book description) illuminating the social change that has taken place over the last 60 years. It’s also interesting to compare and contrast the legal and political changes over the same period.

The unspeakable crime for which John William Campbell was arrested and convicted was oral sex. (When I post this review to Amazon and elsewhere we’ll see how far we’ve really progressed.) Seeing how far lawmen were willing to go to gather evidence and convict someone of this victimless crime was eye-opening. According to the author, putting the events chronicled here in a modern context, “at this time there seems little chance that the legal advances made to date will be reversed.” I hope (and think) that she’s right, but not due to lack of trying in some quarters. A Virginia law much like the one used to convict Campbell was recently overturned and the US Supreme Court declined a chance to reconsider that decision on appeal. But some of these archaic laws are still on the books and there are still those who would like to enforce them.

FYI:

Although there is obviously some discussion of sexual issues, the content is relatively mild. If you’re concerned with salacious content, don’t be. (If you’re looking for it, this probably isn’t for you.)

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Four stars

It Isn't Cheating if He's Dead / Julie Frayn

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Women’s Fiction

Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: YES  Paper: YES

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Author:

“From nine to five, Julie Frayn is a mild mannered accountant. But the rest of the time, her writer alter-ego comes to life. When she isn’t counting beans or making things up in her head, she is mother to the two most perfect adults on the planet. She isn’t biased, just observant. When they were younger, they were perfect muses for silly poetry about smashed peas and birds with gastroenteritis.”

Description:

“Jemima Stone is tortured by the disappearance of her schizophrenic fiance, Gerald. She seeks refuge from her pain by feeding the homeless.

When he is found murdered in a city three thousand miles from home, Jemima finds salvation in the arms of the detective who has obsessed over her case for four years, and redemption by reuniting one of her homeless friends with the family he thought he'd lost.”

Appraisal:

Jemima Stone, Jem for short, is one those characters I found myself caring about almost immediately. She isn’t without faults (who among us is?), but she also has a way of taking a negative and turning it positive, which is a quality we could all emulate. An example of this is her obsession with finding her fiancé, Gerald, who disappeared. When she spotted a man that looked like him apparently living among the homeless in a park, she took to preparing and delivering food to the homeless in this park each morning. While initially this was with the hope of finding Gerald, it quickly became more about helping those in need and continued after he was found murdered in another city.

In addition to the main storyline, finding out and coming to terms with what happened to Gerald and why he left like he did, there are secondary story threads which are no less compelling. The changing relationship with the police detective who was investigating Gerald’s disappearance is one. Another is Jem’s work with the homeless, especially one man who she goes above and beyond in finding out his story and trying to help.

FYI:

Some adult language.

The author is Canadian and uses her native spelling conventions which are a mix of US and UK spellings. There is at least one, possibly more uses of Canadian slang. The one I noticed, twonie (although the spelling I've seen is toonie), is the slang for the Canadian two dollar coin and understandable in context for those not familiar with the term.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant proofing or copy editing issues. There are a handful of occurrences of an invalid character that I suspect happened as part of the formatting or a file conversion process, but not enough to be a concern.

Rating: ***** Five stars

The Volunteer Traveler’s Handbook / Shannon O’Donnell

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Travel

Approximate word count: 20-25,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: NO  Paper: YES

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Author:

“Shannon O'Donnell left in 2008 on a year-long round the world trip. That initial trip turned into an open-ended journey around the world and over the years she has shared her travel stories and photography on her travel blog. In 2011 her travel focus shifted, in addition to launching her passion project, a community sourced database of local, sustainable organizations all over the world, Shannon began homeschooling, traveling, and volunteering with her 12-year-old niece.”

For more, visit Shannon’s travel blog or her website for volunteer travel.

Description:

“The Volunteer Traveler's Handbook guides new and veteran travelers through the challenges of finding, vetting, and choosing their ideal volunteer experience. The book's practical advice is interwoven with first-person narrative, stories from a wide range of volunteers, beautiful photography, and expert interviews to help interested volunteers find meaningful ways to give back to communities all over the world-through volunteering, but also through social enterprises and supporting sustainable tourism practices.”

Appraisal:

“It’s entirely possible to go abroad and then cloister yourself away from the newness and diversity, to take the immersive aspect out of the cultural exchange—but really, what’s the fun in that?”

That line from The Volunteer Traveler’s Handbook gives a good feel for how the author looks at travel, as a means to get know a country, its culture, and people, not spending all her hanging out in hotels and on the tourist sightseeing trail with all the other travelers. If she can leave the country slightly improved when she leaves, so much the better, which is where volunteering comes in.

Although aimed primarily at travel to other countries, much of the advice would apply to volunteer traveling domestically and some of the ideas for vetting volunteer opportunities would make sense if you’re just volunteering in your hometown.

The book discusses different options for volunteer traveling along with the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. It rarely takes a stance, saying one is better than the other, instead giving the information to decide what is best for your particular situation and goals. Perhaps the biggest kudos I can give are that it answers the questions I wouldn’t have realized I should have asked.

 Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five stars

Too Much Information / David Haskell

Reviewed by: BigAl      

Genre: Technothriller

Approximate word count: 105-110,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: NO  Paper: NO

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Author:

Born and raised in Boston, David Haskell now lives with his wife and daughter near Tokyo, Japan. This is his first novel.

Description:

“In a world overshadowed by the impendence of terrorism, with pandemics threatening an equal measure of havoc, Thermo-Magnetic Imaging machines represent a seemingly perfect solution. But as privacy and health concerns grow ever more complex, this cutting edge technology delivers more than anyone had bargained for. While the forces behind the scenes fight to conceal their true agenda, the public struggles to cope with a new paradigm so invasive their innermost secrets are laid bare under its powerful lens.

Rob Folsom is a civil liberties activist, a staunch defender of privacy rights. Rosa Perez, a government agent specializing in surveillance, seems an unlikely candidate for him to represent. As Rob is pulled into her world of high-tech spying, corporate intrigue, and black ops government agencies, he becomes caught in a perilous game of cat and mouse. As the target of interest switches from client to advocate, Rob has to find a way to stop them before they sabotage everything he has worked for...”

Appraisal:

The concept of this near future technothriller is a good one. With recent revelations about the actions of the NSA, if you can picture the technology depicted as being on the near horizon (not that big a stretch), it is both timely and credible. The potential for a good story is here.

However, the story as delivered fell short of that potential. The reasons are three-fold. First, is the technical, with more polish needed to shake out the numerous typos and grammar errors.

The second area are issues of writing craft, with multiple instances of head hopping, a tendency to tell something that should have been shown, and a character or the narrator magically knowing something that they couldn’t.

The final area of concern were things happening that made no sense. Some were minor. For example when the protagonist saw a squirrel hop from a tree branch as his car was crashing into the tree. Another was a sequence where a couple of the characters had to attend a meeting, sneak into another part of a building (which involves bypassing a security measure to get there), break into a computer, locate and download some files from that computer, and get out of the building, all in thirty minutes.  I’m not sure which was less believable, that the characters thought they could do this or that they managed to do it without getting caught.

Others were major, at least to me. For example during a court case a judge allowed the protagonist, Rob, to call a “rebuttal witness” in the middle of the other side putting on their case. Anyone who has watched more than one or two fictional court cases in a movie or on a TV show would be left scratching their head, wondering when the rules changed.

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

A large number of proofing and copy editing issues.

Rating: ** Two stars

Orla's Code / Fiona Pearse

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Women’s Fiction

Approximate word count: 40-45,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: YES  Paper: YES

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Author:

“Fiona Pearse was born in Dublin, Ireland and has been a software developer for 15 years. Now settled in London, she writes financial software and is working on her second novel. She is also a blogger and poet with several poems in literary journals.”

For more, visit the author’s website.

Description:

“’If you want to get ahead, get noticed,’ is Orla Hanlon’s motto. New to London and the first female programmer at CouperDaye, a global investment bank, she takes on a high-profile but controversial project.

With her new luxury apartment and a work-romance quietly on the side, Orla thinks she has everything under control.

Until a bug in her code causes chaos on the trading floor and Orla finds herself a scapegoat in a corporate game, fighting to save her new life in London.”

Appraisal:

As the first female computer programmer at her new employer, Orla has to deal with the obvious issue of being a novelty among her peers, along with some of the all-too-typical management issues and job challenges typically found in a software development shop. I was impressed with the author’s ability to communicate the challenges of Orla’s job without sinking into tech-talk or too much detail for the layperson.

Much of the story conflict comes from Orla’s struggle to balance her work goals, her personal life, and possibly sneak in a little sex (surely romance and a fuller relationship would be asking too much). Overall, Orla’s Code was a quick, fun read.

FYI:

Adult language and some mild adult content.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: **** Five stars

Bend Me, Shape Me / Debra R. Borys

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Thriller

Approximate word count: 65-70,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: NO  Paper: YES

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Author:

Debra Borys is a freelance writer and editor who has spent over twelve years as a volunteer for programs to help disadvantaged youth. For more, visit her website or the website for her series.

Description:

“Snow Ramirez hasn’t trusted anyone in a very long time, not even herself. Memories of her childhood on Washington’s Yakama Reservation haunt her even on the streets of Chicago. When her squat mate Blitz slits his own throat in front of her, she knows it’s time to convince someone to trust her instincts. Blitz may have been diagnosed bi-polar, like Snow herself, but no way would he have offed himself like that if the shrink he’d been seeing hadn’t bent his mind completely out of shape.”

Appraisal:

Although the story of Bend Me, Shape Me is an engrossing thriller and a satisfying read for that reason alone, what I found most interesting was the light it shines on the issues faced by homeless kids. Sure, the book has the normal disclaimers about not being about real people, and I believe that. But prominent in the author’s bio is her experience working with organizations that help such kids. I’ve got to believe the issues, experiences, and difficulties of runaways and throwaways are depicted accurately, even though the specific personalities and characteristics of the kids in the story are made up.

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: **** Four stars

Suddenly Sorceress / Erica Lucke Dean

This is the second half of a doubleshot. If you missed it, look at the post from this morning with ?wazithink's take on the same book.

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Chick Lit/Paranormal

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: NO  Paper: YES

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Author:

“After walking away from her career as a business banker to pursue writing full-time, Erica Lucke Dean moved from the hustle and bustle of the big city to a small tourist town in the North Georgia Mountains, where she lives  in a 90-year-old haunted farmhouse with her workaholic husband, her 180 lb lap dog, and at least one ghost.

When she’s not writing or tending to her collection of crazy chickens and diabolical ducks, she’s either reading bad fan fiction or singing karaoke in the local pub. Much like the main character in her first book, To Katie With Love, Erica is a magnet for disaster and has been known to trip on air while walking across flat surfaces.

How she’s managed to survive this long is one of life’s great mysteries.”

Description:

"PMS can be a real witch.

Ivie McKie isn’t your run-of-the-mill kindergarten teacher. After an encounter with a horny goat, followed by a confrontation with her lying, cheating fiancé, Ivie is shocked when the big jerk suddenly transforms into a skunk—the black and white furry variety.

Enlisting the help of her shopaholic friend Chloe and sexy club magician Jackson Blake, Ivie is forced to play a literal game of cat and mouse as she races against the clock to change her ex back before she's arrested for his murder... Ivie soon discovers what every witch worth her spell book knows: There’s nothing worse than a bad case of Post Magical Syndrome."

Appraisal:

I’ve read books that combine something paranormal with another genre - romance, thriller, and horror immediately come to mind - but I don’t think I’ve ever read one that tossed chick-lit and paranormal together before. Both the story conflict and much of the humor in Suddenly Sorceress come about due to Ivie, the protagonist, finding that she can cast spells, although she’s not sure exactly how she’s doing it or how to undo what she’s done.

While I felt sorry for Ivie and wondered if she was going to find a way to turn her ex-fiancé back into a human, I was also laughing at her the entire time. Some of that was because of the situations she found herself in (getting attacked by a horny goat) and some was the author’s sense of humor or way of describing something. One example is the pop culture reference when Ivie as the narrator said she, “felt the wintry air soak into me and shook like Bruce Banner in the throes of a temper tantrum.” Another was prompted by her hair which changed color over time (although she wasn’t dyeing it) starting out with red highlights and eventually turning bright red, which prompted this:

I look like Ronald McDonald’s slutty younger sister. “Would you like a happy ending with that value meal?”

This was a very fun read, even for this non-chick.

FYI:

Adult content and language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five stars

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Suddenly Sorceress / Erica Lucke Dean

This is the first half of a doubleshot. Check back later today to get BigAl's take on the same book.

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Genre: Contemporary Fantasy/ Romance/ Magic

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: NO  Paper: YES

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

“After walking away from her career as a business banker to pursue writing full-time, Erica Lucke Dean moved from the hustle and bustle of the big city to a small tourist town in the North Georgia Mountains where she lives in a 90-year-old haunted farmhouse with her workaholic husband, her 180lb lap dog, and at least one ghost.”

To learn more about her, visit her website.

Description:

"PMS can be a real witch.

Ivie McKie isn’t your run-of-the-mill kindergarten teacher. After an encounter with a horny goat, followed by a confrontation with her lying, cheating fiancé, Ivie is shocked when the big jerk suddenly transforms into a skunk—the black and white furry variety.

Enlisting the help of her shopaholic friend Chloe and sexy club magician Jackson Blake, Ivie is forced to play a literal game of cat and mouse as she races against the clock to change her ex back before she's arrested for his murder... Ivie soon discovers what every witch worth her spell book knows: There’s nothing worse than a bad case of Post Magical Syndrome."

Appraisal:

This story was absolutely the most fun I've had reading in a while. From the moment I met Ivie, I liked her. She was smart, cute, humble, and just a bit accident prone. Perhaps accident prone isn't the right choice of words here, but things tend to happen to her. When she loses her temper with her cheating fiancé and he changes into a skunk, she scrambles to figure out how to turn him back into his regular self. Nothing like this has ever happened to her before.

The plot twists and turns as Ivie searches all the wrong places for answers to her dilemma. One of those wrong places is a magic show in a seedy part of town where she meets gorgeous part-time stage magician Jackson Blake, who leads her to believe he might be able to help. Ivie is totally out of her element and desperately grasping at straws as she tries to elude the police by hesitantly involving her best friend, Chloe. Everyone needs a best friend like Chloe. She was as eccentric as she was loyal. She kept me laughing and I loved her style.

As certain elements in the story change, the stakes raise higher and Ivie's mother gets pulled into the fray. Certain facts about the past are brought to light and Ivie's world is turned upside down yet again. I can't say the ending was a complete surprise, but I can say it ended the way I was hoping it would. I had my fingers crossed anyway.

The plot moves at a good pace and twists back on itself more than once. The foible-filled characters were all well developed and the dialogue was thoroughly entertaining. It was fun giving into the magical elements of this story and Ms. Dean's Post Magical Syndrome was a fascinating twist. If you are looking for a fast, fun, sexy story that will leave a smile on your face I highly recommend this one.

FYI:

Adult sexual situations and adult language that may be offensive to some.

Format/Typo Issues:

Although I read an Advanced Readers Copy, I found no significant errors.

Rating: ***** Five stars

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The author of each of these books has indicated their intent to schedule these books for a free day for the Kindle versions today on Amazon. Sometimes plans change or mistakes happen, so be sure to verify the price before hitting that "buy me" button.

The Partisans: Sons and Daughters by Peter Drago

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Dead(ish) by Naomi Kramer

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My Only One / Gregory M. Thompson

Welcome our newest Pal, Sooz, with her first review today.

Reviewed by: Sooz

Genre: Science Fiction/Dystopian

Approximate word count: 25,000-30,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: NO  Paper: YES

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

Gregory M. Thompson is a horror, science fiction and fantasy writer. He’s published about half a dozen books and short stories with one of his most popular being Nightcry. He’s had work appear in Macabre Realms, Aphelion Webzine, Digital Dragon Magazine, Dark Gothic Resurrected, Midwest Literary Review, The Fringe Magazine among others.

For more information, visit the author’s website.

Description:

Each citizen of the United Conglomerate of States is allowed to own just one book. When Morton’s daughter comes home from the university with a book she stole from her professor, Morton promptly returns it only to find the professor has something for him – a way into the rumored Secret Library. From there, Morton is tested after a series of events and deep heartache that lead him to make difficult decisions.

Appraisal:

The idea behind My Only One is interesting. Citizens of a dystopian future are only allowed to own one book, and this is something the government takes seriously with random sweeps by agents. Owning more than one book or writing books seem to be some of the worst offenses for a citizen to make in this future reality.

However, I had one burning question by the end of the book – why?

It was never addressed why people couldn’t own several books, which is important because it would allow readers to connect to the characters that want to change the world.

Another major issue was the lack of editing and simple proofreading mistakes throughout the book. While I normally look past a proofreading mistake as long as it doesn’t dramatically change the concept or create too much confusion, the biggest problem was continuity in the story.

One early example is when Morton, the main character, tells his daughter he is going for a walk when he is really going to sneak to the secret library. His daughter, Eliana, wants to go on the walk with him but when Morton refuses she says: “We haven’t done anything together like this since...” Eliana lowered her head. “Since mom passed away.”

I don’t think I am giving anything away by saying this – the issue is that her mother died just two days after she was born, according to a couple of different passages. While Eliana’s age is not revealed, she’s presented as a teenager. So, according to that statement, they have never in at least 15 years gone on a walk. In addition, someone who didn’t know their mother wouldn’t likely make a statement like that.

This story reads like a rough first draft with too many mistakes and continuity errors to truly enjoy it. There are also places where the book could have been flushed out, especially when it came to the government’s reasoning to have such strict rules for literature.

One of the positives of the book was a pleasant recap of literature history as Morton goes through the different floors of the library featuring completes works of Shakespeare, mentioning books by  Patterson, King, Reese, Shelley and others.

I wish Thompson would take another crack at My Only One because there is an interesting concept there, but this book is simply not ready.

Format/Typo Issues:

A number of errors and continuity issues

Rating: ** Two Stars